


Second to Last and Rising

by Splat_Dragon



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Blood, Character Death, Childbirth, F/M, Lactation, M/M, Male Lactation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-06-08 00:28:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6831556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Splat_Dragon/pseuds/Splat_Dragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kozmotis Pitchiner slaughtered all of the Pooka, except for one; E. Aster Bunnymund. It was a fact! Bunny had been around since Pangaea; surely he would have found another Pooka if there had been one! But when investigating seasonal disturbances, what will happen when Bunnymund finds another Pooka?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cover Page




	2. Blood on the Ice

 

_**Title:**_ Second to Last and Rising  
_**Rating:**_ M  
_**Fandom:**_ Rise of the Guardians  
_**Chapter(s):**_ 1/?  
_**Characters:**_ Bunnymund, Original Female Character, Pooka, Jack Frost, North, Tooth, Sandy, Original Male Characters  
_**Pairings:**_ Bunnymund/Original Female Characters, North/Tooth  
_**Synopsis:**_ Kozmotis Pitchiner slaughtered all of the Pooka, except for one: E. Aster Bunnymund. It was a fact! Bunny had been around since Pangaea; surely he would have found another Pooka if there had been one! But when investigating seasonal disturbances, what will happen when Bunnymund finds another Pooka?  
_**Tags:**_ Character Death, Blood, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, Childbirth, Lactation, Male Lactation

* * *

                 **3 rd Person: Bunnymund's** ****

     “Yeah yeah sheilah, ah get it! Only stay ou' as long as ah think ah can last, if ah feel tired ah'll come back so Sandy can take my place.” the motherly rainbow feathered Tooth Fairy fluttered in front of him, unsatisfied by his answer.

 

     Oh no, the sheilah was opening her mouth again! Not wanting to have to listen to her rambling on and on once more, the buck tapped his hind-paw twice on the ground. A hole appeared to rend the ground, the origin point of which seemed to be where he had hit the wood floor. He called a farewell before leaping down into it, hearing Tooth call out his name before he closed the tunnel, an aster popping up.

 

_'Ah, sweet silence.'_ thought the Pooka, but he only relaxed for a moment before beginning to race down the tunnel that had formed. While he really, _really_ didn't want to do this, he knew that it was a necessary evil. He prayed to MiM that he'd find the culprit of the random weather.

 

     After a good while, the tunnel began sloping up, and he quickly neared the end of the tunnel – a thick, solidly packed wall of dirt that would hurt like hell to run into. However, when he was but a stride away, a hole opened up much like the one earlier, granting access to his general destination. As per habit, he stuck his ears out first, and swiveled them around, checking the area; no point in getting maimed by another spirit before he could complete his mission.

 

     Satisfied that there were no spirits in the general vicinity, Bunny nimbly leaped out of the hole, which quickly stitched up under him, another aster leaving the only sign that it had ever existed. He stood where he landed, swiveling his head slowly, allowing his gaze to drift over the landscape, taking in everything, not missing the slightest of details.

 

     Although it was late in Spring, and any winter spirits should have moved south to help the fall spirits paint their leaves, the ground was coated in a thick layer of ice, frost, and snow. The air was frigid, with the scent of winter spirit magic to it. The trees were cracking and popping from the unnatural cold, having been gently and carefully coaxed out of their hibernation by a spring spirit, only to be cruelly yanked back into the freezing, dangerous times of winter. He could feel their pain, hear them crying and moaning, and felt red hot anger flood his veins. He would get the bloody gallah who did this!

 

     He breathed in deep, standing tall for the best vantage point, ears stretched as high as they could go, swiveling around. There was no one nearby, but the snow was fresh. The spirit had to have been here recently; no more than a day, two at the most. A sniff. Wait, what was that?

 

     He swiveled his head once more as he inhaled. It smelled almost like... fire? But, that wasn't possible! He hadn't met a spirit yet – and he had been around a long, long time – who could manipulate both ice and fire. It wasn't possible!

 

     Aster stepped forward, following his nose. At the edge of a clearing was a large, melted patch of slush, the grass visible heavily charred and burned, and reeking of malevolent intent and fear. What had _happened_ here?

 

     Looking at the clearing that he had yet to enter, Bunny was overwhelmed by the clogging scent of death, the heart stopping smell of fear, the acrid scent of something that had caught fire, and something he couldn't name. He was shocked to see that most of the snow had been turned to slush by what had to be something of high temperature – this was winter spirit snow. A winter spirits snow could only be melted if they so wished it, by Mother Nature's cycle, or by way of a Summer Spirit's fire.

 

     And then he discovered what he hadn't been able to name before.

 

     Blood.

 

     The silver-blue blood of a winter spirit soaked the leftover snow, so lightly colored that he hadn't noticed at first. The other smells had covered up the cloying, metallic scent of the life-blood up until the moment that he swiped his fingers into some and brought it up to his nose to make sure it was what it seemed.

 

     It was.

 

     Bunnymund sat back on his haunches, puzzling over this. Nothing was making sense! First, they found out that there were random and out-of-season ice storms and blizzards. Then, he discovered thick winter spirit magic, even though there should have been no winter spirits around. He had also found patches of snow burned. And then, he found the clearing that could give a cadaver dog a heart attack. The snow was melted, saturated with blood.

 

     Wait... he brought his nose to the air, and began to inhale. He picked the scents apart, and realized that the blood _wasn't_ the scent he couldn't make out. There was a scent like heavy spices, and it hit him like North's sled: a summer spirit!

 

     It was obvious to him then what was going on. Why hadn't he thought of it earlier!?

 

     The winter spirit and summer spirit had gotten into a bad altercation, and due to it the winter spirit had been stuck up here; likely because the summer spirit wouldn't let it flee. Probably, the summer spirit had started it. They were known for being hot headed and vain, taking offense easily. If one ran into a playful, mischievous winter spirit, a fight was practically guaranteed.

 

     Obviously, the winter spirit was wounded. Badly. Aster needed to find it so he could fix the flare-ups and heal the spirit. Sure, easy enough. Pooka aren't considered top notch trackers for nothing.

 

     So Bunny set out in ever widening circles, searching for the slightest hint of a winter spirit. It took him a while to find a trace of it, blood on the ground with a patch of frost on the side of a tree, where he guessed the spirit had used the tree to hold itself up.

 

     Bunny was an expert tracker. Any Pooka older than a kit was. So it wasn't that hard for him to keep the trail with ears swiveling like radar, his eyes scanning for visual tracks in areas that fit where the last one had been, and his nose twitching in search of the slightest of scents. Little patches of frost on the trees, blood splattered on the ground, a sudden breath of black cherry or a lungful of crisp air. He moved quickly enough that the trail became fresher in minutes, going from almost-melted slushy frost to pristine, harsh patterns he had grown to associate with fear, anger, or strong emotions from Frostbite. He sped up, fearing for the winter spirit.

 

     Before Frost had joined the Guardians, Bunny had occasionally spoken with spirits outside of their group in passing, but never thought of them, visited, or interacted otherwise. It just never came to mind. However, when they learned of Frostbite's story, and the centuries of loneliness he'd dealt with, he and the other Guardians began making an effort to speak and make friends with the other spirits. They didn't want anyone else to be forced to go through Jack's plight, and definitely didn't need another Pitch Black.

 

     Aster was determined not to let this spirit suffer alone.

 

     He ducked and weaved over and under logs and boulders, dashing as fast as he could while still being able to watch for the trail. Bunny was losing the feeling in his paws from the cold, but he didn't care! If he didn't make it in time, the Spirit might die!

 

     After about ten minutes of following the trail, it ended in another forest, this one far thicker than the others. He reared up onto his hind legs, glad to go bipedal again. While he didn't mind walking on his fore- and hind-legs, it was more comfortable to walk on his hind, perhaps because the pads were thicker.

 

     A swivel of the ears, a flicker of the eye, a twitch of the nose.

 

     And he knew the Spirit was very, very close.

 

**A/N: So, I'm finally getting this out, so... yeah :P . The first couple of chapters will be short, but they will lengthen. I have them planned out.**


	3. The Pursuit

_** ** _

_**Title:**_ Second to Last and Rising  
_**Rating:**_ M  
_**Fandom:**_ Rise of the Guardians  
_**Chapter(s):**_ 2/?  
_**Characters:**_ Bunnymund, Original Female Character, Pooka, Jack Frost, North, Tooth, Sandy, Original Male Characters  
_**Pairings:**_ Bunnymund/Original Female Characters, North/Tooth  
_**Synopsis:**_ Kozmotis Pitchiner slaughtered all of the Pooka, except for one: E. Aster Bunnymund. It was a fact! Bunny had been around since Pangaea; surely he would have found another Pooka if there had been one! But when investigating seasonal disturbances, what will happen when Bunnymund finds another Pooka?  
_**Tags:**_ Character Death, Blood, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, Childbirth, Lactation, Male Lactation

* * *

                 **3 rd Person: ?'s:**

     What was _that_?

 

     It twitched its ears, trying to identify the source of the sound. When that proved useless, it brought its nose to the air, and promptly froze. No, no, _no!_ **It** can't be back already! It hadn't healed yet from their last fight! No! Why was **it** already back? It hadn't even been a day since they'd fought last!

 

     Panic fueling its now rapidly beating heart, it dropped back onto its hands and feet and took off at full speed. **It** couldn't catch it! It was too badly wounded! **It** would kill it!

 

     Breathing _hurt._ Listening _hurt._ Running _hurt._

 

     What was that? Did those bushes rustle? Was that the wind? Did a twig break? Was it broken by it or **it**? What was that shadow? It didn't seem to match anything it could see, or couldn't.

 

     Was **it** in league with Kozmotis? It would surely die if it had to fight both, or even one of them in its state. Pitchiner was... well, not its friend, but an ally at the least! Why would Pitch betray it? No, it was thinking too much into this. That shadow was just a shadow, nothing more, nothing less. It should stop thinking, save that energy for running.

 

     What was that?

 

     That sounded too big to be **it**... Taking a potentially-fatal chance, it drew to a stop. Perhaps it was a human! If a human was this far out into the forest, they were bound to have a First-Aid kit on them, or one at their camp. Even if the human couldn't see it, that would be perfect!

 

     It, ignoring the pain in its ankle and leg, stood up and began to take deep inhales, separating and naming the scents as it smelled them. Oak, Pine, Evergreen, Maple, deer, cat, another deer, wolf, fox, but no human! It frowned, cocking its head. Trees don't move, so obviously they weren't what it'd heard. ...Wait... It sniffed again, furrowing its brow.

 

     Then, its eyes shot open.

 

     A... a Pooka!? No way! But... but they were all wiped out! How?

 

     Its muscles locked with its shock, and claws dug into the ground. It wanted so badly to go meet the Pooka, but it couldn't risk having the Pooka be aggressive and attack it in its state. So, with a heavy heart and a deep sigh, it turned away from the scent and began to move once more.

 

     The bushes rustled again, and it clicked.

 

     There wasn't _just_ a Pooka! The _Pooka_ was chasing it! Damn it all!

     

     Pooka are fast, Pooka are deadly. It didn't stand a chance. Normally, it was on an equal level, but now? Now, it was doomed.

 

     Like a horse from a starting gate, it shot off into a dead run, choking out a cough as its lungs constricted. The ash that tainted its throat and esophagus made it hard for it to catch the breath it needed to keep running. A blurted “Wait!” burst out from behind it, startling it, but it kept running.

 

     It ducked and weaved, twisted and leaped, but the _thing_ on its tail always stayed only a few leaps and bounds behind it. It didn't know the area, so it just did its best to lose the Pooka. Its muscles and lungs burned, begging it to stop, but it kept running.

 

     And then it couldn't.

 

     It had inadvertently run into a canyon, which narrowed and tapered off into a hole too small for it to fit through.

 

     It flung itself into the rock, grasping desperately for a claw-hold, but there was nothing in reach.

 

     It was trapped.


	4. Good Intentions

_**Title:**_ Second to Last and Rising  
_**Rating:**_ M  
_**Fandom:**_ Rise of the Guardians  
_**Chapter(s):**_ 3/?  
_**Characters:**_ Bunnymund, Original Female Character, Pooka, Jack Frost, North, Tooth, Sandy, Original Male Characters  
_**Pairings:**_ Bunnymund/Original Female Characters, North/Tooth  
_**Synopsis:**_ Kozmotis Pitchiner slaughtered all of the Pooka, except for one: E. Aster Bunnymund. It was a fact! Bunny had been around since Pangaea; surely he would have found another Pooka if there had been one! But when investigating seasonal disturbances, what will happen when Bunnymund finds another Pooka?  
_**Tags:**_ Character Death, Blood, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, Childbirth, Lactation, Male Lactation

* * *

 **3** ** rd ** **Person: Bunnymund's POV**

 

     Aster twitched his ear once more. He knew the Spirit was close, but the scent of its blood was cloying; he couldn't determine from which direction it was coming. Ugh! This was _so_ confusing! Why couldn't anything be simple? Pitch attacked – oh no! It couldn't just be a simple attack, it had to be a full out kill-all-the-Guardians attempt. He discovered a Winter Spirit's magic – oh no, he couldn't simply track 'em down and drag 'em to Santoff Claussen; he had to track down a badly wounded Winter Spirit, heal them, and book the one responsible!

 

     The bunny shook his head. He needed to stop getting distracted! This Spirit could be dying, and he was focused on pitying himself! Dammit! The Pooka growled and lifted his nose to the air, desperately picking apart the scents. Oak, Pine, Evergreen, Maple, deer, cat, another deer, wolf, fox, but no Spirit!

 

     Wait... what was that?

 

     It was so familiar... but he hadn't smelled it in so long it seemed foreign. It was on the tip of his tongue! _What was it!?_

 

     After a minute with no forthcoming answer, Aster chose to ignore the familiar-yet-foreign scent. After he found the Spirit, he could figure it out.

 

     He went back to searching the air, whilst also keeping an ear out for any sounds.

 

     There! The sound of rushed footsteps, so light on the padded ground he almost missed them. Almost exactly at the same time as he caught the smell of... winter magic!

 

     The footsteps stopped near him, the figure hidden by brambles, brush, and trees. There was that scent again! What was it? No, Aster, don't get distracted. A long ear twitched at the sound of an animals' snuffling. So it was an animal Spirit. Interesting; those were rather rare.

 

     Okay Aster, what was the best way to do this? It was hurt, so it was probably going to be rather scared. He didn't want to startle it; that would only lead to a fight and more wounds for the other Spirit. _'Alright, just introduce yourself and try not to be threatening_ . _'_

 

     The Pooka took a moment to catch his breath, taking the opportunity to smooth down his fur. No need to scare the Spirit with a frazzled monster, now.

 

     “Alright-y then,” he muttered, standing up and smoothing down his fur a final time. “MiM help me.” The hare sighed, shaking himself as he went to step forward, rustling the bushes by accident. He flinched, but stepped forward, straining to see the Spirit. He could make out a vague, humanoid figure, but that was it. Their fur was clearly black, because they seemed to blend in with the shadows. He stepped forward once more, opening his mouth to call out.

 

     *Rustle.*

 

     The figure whipped around, and startling gold eyes that reminded him of Pitch gleamed in the darkness. Before he could do anything, it had spun back around and took off at a dead sprint... on all fours? He had never seen an animal spirit do that before! Well, except for himself of course.

 

     “Wait!” he shouted at the same time as it let out a strangled, raspy cough, stumbling slightly. But then it was off again, leaping over a log and vanishing.

 

     Aster snarled a curse, and shot after it, easily finding its tracks once more, his quarry's paws bloody. He quickly caught up with it, but stayed a body length behind. Even though he wanted to tackle it to a stop, he knew that it would only hurt it more. He fought to see what exactly it was, but the forest was dark and shadowy, the creature seeming to dissolve into the darkness. Was it one of Pitch's tricks, a Nightmare, a Fearling? Could this be a trap?

 

     It leaped over some logs and ducked under others, weaved around trees and splashed through ponds. Aster mimicked its patterns perfectly, careful not to push it too hard for fear it would collapse.

 

     It sped up, and he found himself hard-pressed to keep up with its speed, falling behind. He realized what had caused it when light began to burn his eyes, which had adjusted to the darkness a long while ago. It cleared a final log, and leaped from the forest.

 

     Aster followed, thinking it was done, but he was proven wrong. They had emerged in a canyon, and the other Spirit was well suited for running in it, easily making the turns, while Aster had a bit of a harder time with his larger bulk. It always stayed one turn ahead, and all he ever saw of it was the end of a paw. However, he noticed that the canyon was narrowing, and he concluded that soon it would be too narrow for the Spirit to escape through.

 

     And he was right.

 

     He saw a paw at the corner of the canyon, followed by the sound of claws digging into packed dirt. He chuckled, and stood up, bipedal. Aster shook off his hands, getting the dirt out of his fur and rocks from his pads.

 

     He smiled kindly as he walked around the corner, trying not to scare the Spirit, knowing a wounded animal was most dangerous when they were cornered.

 

     When he saw the Spirit, he froze dead. His ears flattened against his skull, his fur bristled, his jaw dropped, emerald eyes widened, and his heart leaped to his throat. His eyes took in the dull black fur, the terrified gold eyes, and he couldn't believe what was in front of him.

 

     For before him, stood a Pooka.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Title:**_ Second to Last and Rising  
_**Rating:**_ M  
_**Fandom:**_ Rise of the Guardians  
_**Chapter(s):**_ 4/?  
_**Characters:**_ Bunnymund, Original Female Character, Pooka, Jack Frost, North, Tooth, Sandy, Original Male Characters  
_**Pairings:**_ Bunnymund/Original Female Characters, North/Tooth  
_**Synopsis:**_ Kozmotis Pitchiner slaughtered all of the Pooka, except for one: E. Aster Bunnymund. It was a fact! Bunny had been around since Pangaea; surely he would have found another Pooka if there had been one! But when investigating seasonal disturbances, what will happen when Bunnymund finds another Pooka?  
_**Tags:**_ Character Death, Blood, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, Childbirth, Lactation, Male Lactation

* * *

                 **3 rd Person: ?'s**

 

    Oh no, oh no, oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no!

 

    It was _trapped_ ! Trapped like a rabbit in a hunter's snare! It was _trapped_ ! Trapped trapped trapped trapped _trappedtrappedtrapped_!

 

    Strong legs coiled like springs before releasing, and it leaped up high into the air, right hand scrabbling at the cliff face. Every claw-hold it found gave under its weight, and it crashed back to the ground with a howl of pain, a claw ripped free of its paw from snagging on the rock. It wasn't deterred, and leaped up once more, failing again and leaving a streak of blood.

 

    Slower footsteps, more like a cross between an animal's and a human's, caused it to spin around. Sensing the presence of another Spirit nearing -the Pooka? Pitchiner? _**It?** _ -, it pressed hard against the ground with its digitigrade paws, shoving its back up against the rough surface behind it. There was a soft utterance of a curse as two halves of a cracked rib shifted in place.

 

    The other rounded the corner, and it wasn't sure whether or not to feel relieved when it saw that it was, in fact, the Pooka, who looked rather shocked to see it. His long ears, one floppy at the tip from some old wound, flattened back against his skull, accompanied by a startled hiss. The alien's eyes widened, and the hiss stopped as his mouth dropped slightly. His sides heaved, and those emerald eyes roved, running all over its body.

 

    Otherwise, he didn't move.

 

    It didn't either.

 

    The other was the one to break the silence: “You're... a Pooka.” It was more statement than question.

 

    It spoke with a crackling, rasping voice. “Long as I can remember.”

 

    He nodded slowly, disbelieving.

 

    Silence took over once more, the silence so awkward it wanted to stand up and walk away. Aster didn't want to make the first move for fear of scaring it. It didn't want to make the first move for fear of setting the other off.

 

    Becoming uncertain from the silence, and wanting to know the Pooka's plan, it opened its mouth as though to speak. Something seemed to clench in its chest, shooting agony from ear to tail. Its eyes widened, and it began to let out a wet, rattling cough. Doubling over, its warped hand-paws clutched at its chest, which heaved with each desperate wheeze. Icy blood tumbled from its maw, splattering its already bloody fur with the translucent liquid.

 

    The rabbit leaped into action, jumping to its side. “Whoa!” he placed a hand on its back, only to jerk back when it let out a moan of pain, jutting ribs shifting under his hand. “Damn,” he muttered, trying to figure out how to help it without inflicting pain. Finally, he grabbed a flask off his bandolier and, when it gasped for air, pressed it to its lips. The water was gulped down greedily, helping calm down the fit.

 

    Once it had regained control of its breathing, he spoke up: “You're hurt. I can treat you, but I don't have enough supplies on me. I'd need to take you back to my warren.” He meant it as a question, but the Spirit was hurt badly enough that, if it said no, he'd have to forcibly take it there.

 

    It turned tired, murky yellow eyes to him, and he thought that, for sure, the Pitch gold eyes had been a trick of the light. “Sure, go ahead.” It sighed. It knew that it had no choice, and it didn't see the point in fighting back and getting further hurt.

 

    The elder lifted his hind paw, tapping the ground twice. Another rabbit tunnel opened up, a breeze of warm air drifting out, smelling strongly of Spring; roses, tulips, freshly cut grass, and top-soil melding together into a lively medley. It moved as though to step forward, lifting a paw up and leaning forward. At the same time as the paw touched down, all the strength seemed to leave its body. Its muscles, which had been tightly wound so as to run away at a moments notice, went limp. With a sudden, forced exhale, it toppled to the ground lifelessly.


End file.
